samedi 28 avril 2012

Bruins backers’tweet hatred

It had all the makings of a feel-good hockey moment — except the guy who scored the goal was black.

Soon after Joel Ward eliminated the defending Stanley Cup champion Bruins on Wednesday with a Game 7 overtime goal for the Capitals, Twitter erupted in a shower of n-words and other racial insults.

“Go play basketball, hockey is a white sport,” ‘‘4th line black trash” and “white power” were some of the nicer phrases tweeted by angry Boston fans. One said the fact a black player scored “makes this loss hurt a lot more.”

The Bruins and the NHL quickly condemned the tweets. But the outburst was a reminder of the difficulties hockey has had overcoming the idea that black people are unwelcome on the ice or in the stands.